Thunderbot's Day of Doom

By Alan MacDonald and Nigel Baines

Welcome back to Mighty High – the school for superheroes.

Our heroes, Stan, Minnie, Miles and, of course, Pudding the Wonder Dog, face their toughest challenge yet – a weatherman gone bad! Thunderbot is determined to hold the country to ransom by controlling the weather – he even threatens to put the Queen in danger!

With gadgets a-plenty, our young superheroes must battle through ice, snow, tornadoes and lightning strikes – but can they save the day?

With fully integrated black and white illustrations throughout, this laugh-out-loud series is perfect for young readers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
• Release date: Jan 7, 2016
• ISBN: 9781408825334

Alan MacDonald

Alan MacDonald has written over 150 books, including the Devil's Trade and Axel Feinstein series for Scholastic, along with titles in the Dead Famous, Pickle Hill Primary and Double Take series. He is also a regular writer for the Oxford Reading Tree and has had picture books published by Little Tiger Press. Alan MacDonald started his working life in a travelling theatre company. In addition to writing and directing plays, Alan trained as a drama teacher. He has written stories and dramas for the BBC (both television and radio), as well as many children's books. Alan lives in Nottingham.

Book preview

At Mighty High it was the summer term and the students were busy at work in the science lab. Among them were Stan, Miles, Minnie and Pudding the Wonderdog, the four members of

the Invincibles.

Every year the Dame Dorothy Wingnut Prize for Science was presented to the pupil who came up with the most original scientific invention.

In any ordinary school this might have resulted in a glut of pencil sharpeners or novelty lunch boxes, but this was Mighty High – the school for young superheroes – so the gadgets were of a different order altogether. Stan’s classmates were working on fireproof capes, silent shoes and hamster-tracking devices. Stan had never won a science prize – in fact, he’d never won anything unless you counted a goldfish at the fair.

‘There,’ he said, tightening a screw and trying on his invention. ‘What do you think?’

Pudding cocked his head on one side. Minnie frowned.

‘A pair of glasses,’ she said. ‘What’s original about that?’

‘Ah,’ said Stan. ‘But say you’re wearing your glasses and it starts to rain.’

‘I don’t wear glasses,’ objected Minnie.

‘Yes, but say you did,’ Stan continued.

‘Then all you have to do is press this tiny button and …’

Minnie rolled her eyes. ‘Seriously?’ she said. ‘Glasses with windscreen wipers?’

‘Brilliant, eh?’ said Stan. ‘Perfect for flying in the rain. And check this out, they’ve got two speeds: fast and superfast.’

He pushed the button again and the tiny wipers zipped back and forth in a blur of speed. Stan turned them off.

‘Clever AND original,’ he said modestly. ‘Especially if you happen to wear glasses.’

‘Which I don’t,’ repeated Minnie. ‘How many superheroes can you name who wear glasses?’

‘Well, Miles, for one,’ said Stan. ‘He’s not a superhero yet but he will be one day. Where’s he gone, anyway?’

They found Miles in another corner of the science lab, putting the finishing touches to a pair of gloves. They looked like fairly ordinary gloves except that they were made of unusual shiny material that glittered like frost.

‘What’s this then – posh oven gloves?’ asked Stan.

‘Very funny,’ said Miles. ‘Try them on.’

Stan did as he was asked.

‘How do they feel?’ asked Miles.

‘A bit too big,’ said Stan. ‘They’re not exactly super-stylish, are they?’

‘That’s not the point,’ said Miles. ‘It’s what they do that counts.’

‘What do they do?’ asked Minnie.

‘They’re magnetic,’ Miles informed them.

‘I call them Mega Gloves. There are a million magnetic microfibres in there so tiny that they’re invisible to the naked eye.’

Stan raised his eyebrows. Miles’s superhero name was Brainiac but even so, this sounded a bit far-fetched. Stan wiggled his fingers.

‘So, how do they work?’ he asked.